Hate Waste not Food

We all waste so much food every year; almost 50% of the total amount of food thrown away in the UK comes from our homes and, tragically, over half of this food we could have eaten. According to Love Food Hate Waste, 7 million tonnes of food is thrown away annually – that’s the equivalent weight of 3.5 million cars! But did you know that mindful food preparation could save the average UK household over £60 per month?

So much food wastage comes from simply not knowing what to do with it – we either make too much and don’t realise we could freeze it for another time; or forget to use the food we bought within it’s use-by date; or we just haven’t a clue how to rescue items such as overripe fruit or that half pot of yogurt, other than chuck it.

This week (04 – 09 July) is Food Safety Week and The Food Standards Agency is trying to encourage people to freeze their food instead of throwing it away.  I really recommend reading this piece on Use by vs. Best Before dates and how your freezer really is the key to preventing unnecessary food wastage: www.food.gov.uk/science/microbiology/use-by-and-best-before-dates

So this week, instead of throwing away that ‘almost gone-off’ food, why not get creative and make some a simple, nutritious and delicious treat for yourself or your loved ones? In an attempt to inspire you not to throw away your leftovers, your overripe fruits and that tiny bit of remaining yogurt, here are 3 sweet and sumptuous recipes, which I promise, will never make you want to waste anything ever again:

Leftovers Citrus Yogurt Cake – This is a great mix and match healthy cake that uses up so many fridge items: www.cookfirst.co.uk/leftoversyogurtcitruscake/

Banana Nut Muffins – My all-time favourite way to use up overripe bananas, these are a little more interesting and definitely more portable than regular banana bread: www.cookfirst.co.uk/banana-nut-muffins/

Crumble – A warming way to use up old fruit like apples that have become powdery, or berries that are too squidgy to eat raw: www.cookfirst.co.uk/crumble/

For more statistics and information on how to reduce food wastage see: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/node/2472